Man United share increase values club at £1.63 billion

Manchester United's share price reached its highest level for months after the Premier League leaders announced partnerships with two major Chinese companies.

Shares in United, which had sunk as low as $12.00 after last summer's partial flotation on the New York Stock Exchange, rose to $15.54, before ending Tuesday's trading at $15.29.

Prices shot up after the announcement of three-year deals with soft drinks manufacturer Wahaha and China Construction Bank, who will produce an official United-branded credit card.

Both are specific to the Chinese market, where the 19-time champions of England claim to have 108 million followers.

The news, which took United's total of official sponsors in various markets to 44, saw the share price rally.

United sold 10% of shares in the club in an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in August when the Glazers - their owners - hoped to achieve a price of $20 each, which could have valued the club at $3.3 billion (£2.06 billion).

But after underwriters initially propped the share price up, it fell as low as $12, which valued the club at just under $2 billion.

At a price of $15.29, United's overall value would be $2.62 billion (£1.63 billion).